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Time to Play! Kicking

Kids learn by playing. The more you can make learning to swim fun for your kids, the more they’ll like it, the quicker they’ll learn, and the more fun you’ll have teaching them. One of the skills that will help your kids learn to be stable in the water is kicking. One beautiful thing about kicking is that you can laugh while you practice, and when you play this game, you and your kids will do lots of laughing.

Have your kids kick while you tow them. Let them determine how fast you go based on how fast they kick. Can they kick so fast that you get out of breath? So fast that you can’t keep up? Can they keep a straight face while you’re huffing and puffing? Can you?

Tow them in swerving, curving paths from one side of the pool to the other. Tow them in a fast, straight line.

Finish by hopping out of the pool and flopping down on the grass on your backs and watching the clouds go by. You’ll all need the rest. Learning to kick is tiring, and so is all that towing.

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Time to Play! Going Underwater

Kids learn by playing. The more you can make learning to swim fun for your kids, the more they’ll like it, the quicker they’ll learn, and the more fun you’ll have teaching them. An important swimming skill is being comfortable putting your head underwater. Play this game to help your kids practice.

After your kids have practiced blowing bubbles and holding their breath underwater, have them put their heads underwater and lift up very slowly, until their eyes are just above the water. Have them pretend they’re crocodiles looking for prey, and you’re the prey. Let them pounce!

No biting, please.

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Time to Play! Blowing Bubbles

Kids learn by playing. The more you can make learning to swim fun for your kids, the more they’ll like it, the quicker they’ll learn, and the more fun you’ll have teaching them. One of the first steps of teaching your kids to swim is to help them learn to blow bubbles.

Blowing bubbles helps kids get used to having their faces in the water and learn to control and be aware of their breath. A game you’ve probably already played a million times can help your kids learn to blow bubbles, and you don’t need a pool to play it.

On land, practice blowing raspberries on each other’s tummies. It’s simple, it’s fun, and it helps kids who haven’t gotten used to putting their faces in the water get a good grasp of what they’ll be doing with their bodies. They’ll be able to practice the new thing—putting their faces in the water—after having mastered the blowing part.

Your ability, as a parent, to play games and practice skills on land that apply to swimming give you a huge advantage when you’re teaching your kids to swim. Your kids will be learning skills they’ll use in the pool without even realizing it, and you’ll all be getting tummy raspberries. What could be better than that?

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Time to Play! Getting out of the Pool

Kids learn by playing. The more you can make learning to swim fun for your kids, the more they’ll like it, the quicker they’ll learn, and the more fun you’ll have teaching them.

One of the most important skills you can teach your kids when they’re learning to swim is how to get out of the pool by themselves. The easiest places to get out of the pool are the stairs or pool ladder. Your kids need to be able to get to the stairs or ladder from other parts of the pool. You can make a game out of practicing this critical swimming skill.

While your child holds onto the edge of the pool, show him how to move by pulling himself along the edge with his hands. Move one hand. Then move the other hand to meet it. Practice moving along the wall this way. Now turn it into a game.

Have your child move his hands like cars in a traffic jam. One car has to move before the other can move into position next to it. No passing! Do your kids’ hands wait patiently, or do they honk their horns? What kinds of horns do they have? Are they loud eighteen-wheeler wailers or cute mini beeps?

I guarantee that this swimming lesson will be the most fun you have in traffic all day.